And The Hero Will Drown
by BitterIris
Summary: I couldn't breathe, I couldn't see; the world just slowly grew dark around me. /The Long Awaited Sequel to 'Until the Day I Die'/ -will get around to updating ASAP; writer's block-
1. Introduction to the end

Years past, a war had erupted and seized to exist just as fast. Now the man behind it had been locked up behind bars without his chakra due to no one being able to murder the pervious hero, and yet he never came home. There was no hope anymore in my mind that he would come and join us here, alongside his friends who considered him their family. No way was he going to come back. So why, why did I sit here every night praying and talking to him in my dreams about coming home? He clearly stated he wouldn't come back here. And yet as simple as that fact was to accept, since it had remained so clear in his voice that he meant it, it was hard to accept the fact he wouldn't be joining me here. He wouldn't be joining anyone here. Instead, he vowed to stay far away from it, which meant he vowed to stay away from me.

Each night my cries sounded out across the village for the longest time. But eventually I just couldn't cry anymore. So instead, I learned to control my powers, and slowly I watched myself grow stronger and stronger. Yet again, that might have been because I was the god daughter of the current Hokage. Naruto had been heart broken when he heard Kakashi would take over as Hokage but, when Kakashi told him that he would step down once he felt Naruto was ready, he had calmed down and understood what he had meant. It had to be explained to me though. Kakashi wanted Naruto to focus on finding someone he'd spend the rest of his life with and marry her before he got this title. He thought it would be best for Naruto to fall in love before he took on the responsibility of a whole village. But what hurt to see is that Kakashi never quite seemed to find interest in anyone he saw. It was hard for me to stand by and watch my guardian grow older and never find someone to love. But, everyday like he used to, he would visit Obito. Only now, he could actually talk to him.

Obito was calmer now; probably because he no longer had his powers to corrupt him. Instead, he would sit there and listen, sometimes mumbling something back. The first thing I heard leave his mouth when he had been brought in was "Seriously? Kakashi gets everything doesn't he?!" Hurt burned in Kakashi's eyes when those words left Obito's mouth. The spikey haired Uchiha never quite realized that all Kakashi had wanted was his friends back. And he realized real fast that they never would come back, whether it was because they were dead, or because they felt too betrayed living the this world. I could tell that sometimes Kakashi wished Obito was still dead; it would be less painful than dealing with the hate and him no longer being a hero to the village.

It was Hype who seemed to be doing the worse though. He had never truly gotten over his older brother's death. Haru had turned out to have died protecting Hype from Orochimaru who threatened to kill the child now that he knew the truth of his birth. He claimed that because of this, he was no longer of use and was a waste of air. Hype had known for a while though that he wasn't a birthed child but a created one, so of course I had asked why now. The small boy had no idea why his father would want him dead now for it, or even his he had found out about Hype knowing the truth. It was all of that that caused Hype to go into a severe depression thinking that no one needed him anymore. I'm sure that if he hadn't come to the village looking for me, he wouldn't be alive right now. I fear what would have become of him if he had not shown up.

All of my friends seemed to have their own pains growing within them. There wasn't a way for me to cheer either of them up either. It was as if every day a dark cloud had been casted over the village; everyone had still been in mourning over the death of loved ones. What was worse was everyone's mourning over the fifth Hokage, who had given her life to protect the other Kages. Gaara had been the most grateful out of all of them for it. It wasn't the first time someone had given their life so he could live his own. He was a young, proud boy whose heart held nothing but kindness in it. I had found it hard that he had once been evil and deadly, someone no one wanted to get near. And now he was the Kazekage with a girl on his hip. She was a beautiful young girl, someone he had saved on a mission long ago. I could never remember her name though.

It was amazing how everything had progressed over the years though. The village had developed so much stuff from after I had joined alongside everyone. And even though I never became a ninja I knew my powers were progressing. I fought along with Sasuke and Itachi against Kabuto then quickly, leaving Sasuke with a small kiss, ran to join the battle against Obito. I had come in just as the Juubii had been brought back; shaking and crying from the second I did as I saw how Maito Gai had looked. It turned to a bittersweet mix of sadness and joy when I saw Kakashi though. The bloody x across his chest made me worry, but when he turned his head and offered his soft, kind smile to me and fearless eyes I knew that all his faith had been placed in Naruto and with that so was mine.

I watched all 4 of the men strike hard even with their lack of energy or chakra, and I tried my best to strike with my newly controlled Kenkei Genkai, and in the end all of us prevailed and saved the world. It had still been burned into Naruto's mind, as well as my own, to one day bring Sasuke back to the village and we planned on doing it as soon as possible.

Naruto had a girl he wanted to make his for good, but he didn't want to do it until he finally brought his friend home. He wouldn't even accept the Hokage position until that. Not even if Kakashi changed his mind and resigned this second in hopes that Naruto would be picked next.

As for me; well I had a little boy who wanted to see his father.


	2. My Will of Fire

The sweet sound of blue birds rang through the air, which smelled of roses and lavender, as the wind danced gently along with the meadow. Each step taken was another stop closer to the destination I had been aiming for. It was the one place that I could be hidden from the rest of the world, one where there was no other human being in the area and the only company I had was that of small animals. Squirrels were chasing after their young, the birds taught their young to fly, and as for me, I watched my little one run around in the grass in front of me laughing loudly. According to the village, he was a mirror image of his father at his age. With the exception of his bright blue eyes that was. He was the little bit of joy I had in this world when I was down, the reason I wanted to go and drag Sasuke all the way here and the reason I had wanted to this whole time. I only wished he hadn't have to see war at such a young age, watching his cousin try to take over the world as his mother got brought back with wounds.

I had been three years since that had happened however, and the village was now peaceful. It was as if spring had known that it was time to be calm and relax with the rest of us and for once we can enjoy our own small pieces of mind. A simple time in which we could do what we pleased without having to worry about our village being destroyed again. I, for one, couldn't have been happier that there was no more fighting. The villages all stood with one another now, getting along. In a way, Obito had still been a hero by uniting the villages together to fight the war he begun. At the same time, it was still hard to face him whenever my little boy wanted to see his cousin. At the same time though, he also really wanted to meet his MIA father as well.

"What's daddy like mommy?" He asked yet again as he crawled onto my lap.

As usual, I stroked his hair before planting a gentle kiss, soothing him as I thought of what to say. It was getting harder to say this over and over again, to paint an image of what he was like now. I had only talked to him in my dreams, and even then I had yet to tell him that he had a son. I had yet to tell him that there was a little kid that looked just like the two of us running around the village, becoming a little prodigy and at the same time was so timid. His heart was pure, so was his mind, even though he had seen such violent acts.

"He's a kind man who lost his path long ago. He saved mommy from being alone her whole life and showed her a lot of things. He taught her what it meant to be strong and live for a cause. He was also quite the popular one amongst people around here. He's strong and had been known as a prodigy himself since he was very strong for his age. He wasn't too good with working with his team though. It doesn't change anything about how they feel. His friends and sensei, your uncle Kakashi, want him back more than anything in the world, and so do I. I'm sure he's dying to come and see you as soon as he can."

Oh how I wished that was true. We all missed him, we all wanted him to come home, but Sasuke knew nothing of his child. He had a right to know about the little Uchiha that ran around the village with their clan symbol clearly printed onto his back. However, I wished to tell him to his face instead of in a dream. I wished to introduce them to each other, but I didn't quite know how.

"Keiichi sweetie, I believe it's time we went and got some food. How about we go and get some dango for dinner tonight? Would that be alright?"

Keiichi's face twisted a bit as he shook his head. "No, that stuff is icky tasting."

I chuckled a bit to myself as I smoothed his raven hair. "Alright, how about we go get some ramen then?"

That one had Keiichi bouncing on his heels as he got up and raced out of the meadow. "Come on mommy!" He shouted as he reached the edge, waving his hand.

I simply smiled at him as I stood, walking towards him as the grass brushed up against my sandals. It was my own little bit of peace. Yet again… for the time being… everything was just so peaceful

After we got Ramen I took Keiichi to the park to let him play with his friends. I wasn't the only one who had a child after that event. A lot of people had thinking that we were all going to die. They were grateful when they returned; the streets were filled with couples kissing and confessions of love to others. Everyone realized that all they knew could be lost in a minute then. They just wanted a way to let them all know that if they died, they knew one another were loved.

I cried a bit when Hinata confessed to Naruto. She just held him close and, red faced as usual, screamed out what she had been holding in for a long time. "I love you! I love you more than anything and… and I… I want to be your girlfriend…"

Naruto's answer had been a gentle kiss, in which everyone either cheered or mumbled 'finally' to them. Hinata's teammates didn't seem too happy that he had taken her, but faked it anyway so that she would smile.

They weren't the ones that had kids though.

The kids around Keiichi's age were Emiko and Takahiro; the daughter of Kurenai and the son of Iruka and Miyuki. When Kurenai had told me the story of what happened to Asuma, I cried. It got worse as she told me about how his team had to work together to kill his resurrected soul. It was painful to do, I was sure, but it was what had to be done. Emiko was just like her mother, gentle but strong, and according to Kurenai had her father's smile. She was a beautiful little girl.

Takahiro was outgoing and loud, just as both their parents had been when they were younger. He had his mother's long, navy hair, but his father's dark eyes and tan skin. He was always trying to climb over everything, which is why his parents enjoyed taking him here when he was starting to get too energetic. They kept asking in Yamanaka's if there was a type of herb that would calm the child down for a bit, or medication. They would just chuckle at it and tell them it will go away with age. Iruka would just silently pray that he wouldn't be as much of a handful in school like Naruto was when he was that age.

I hoped that they would be placed on the same team when they were older. It would be wonderful to see the three of them do their missions together, take the chunin exams, and become strong shinobi together. At least that way we'd all know that our children were safe in each other's hands. We all knew they would never allow harm to come to one another.

The three of them climbed all over the park playing all sorts of games. I smiled softly as I watched them all. It was amazing how their little imaginations could travel so far without ever seeing anything outside of the village. They imagined being ninjas on a faraway mission, going against the strongest to protect everyone in the village and each other from the dangers that lay ahead. I hoped they would never have to deal with stuff like that, but for now it was nice if they just dreamed.

The nations all got along now, working hand in hand. So there was no need to worry about war. Their only issue was the fact that Obito was still alive. He, however, was seemingly useless after all of this. Shikamaru and Ino were taking it the hardest though, especially after what had happened to their fathers. The both of them stood hand in hand next to each other, staring at the tomb stone in the middle of the training grounds. There, Shikaku and Inoichi were clearly spelt out along with the rest of the intelligence team. They were all greatly honored amongst the villagers for all of the work they did, and their children couldn't love them anymore for dying while protecting everyone. That didn't stop them from crying over all of it though. It didn't stop them from wishing that they still had their fathers here.

The sound of the children's screams brought me back to reality, someone was nearby that was making them exited. And that someone was getting tackled to the ground by all three of them. The three of us laughed as they clung to the guy, all of them just at his height.

"Hype nii-san!" The all screamed and they giggled childishly.

Hype struggled to stand up, just being forced back to the ground by all three of them. "You're all crushing me." He muttered just loud enough for us to hear him.

"Keiichi, Emiko, Takahiro, I think Hype needs to breathe."

The three kids, reluctantly, got off of Hype letting the poor buy stand. He dusted himself off as he rose to his feet, turning his back to us for a moment. I smiled softly at the symbol on the back of his clothing, the red and white fan for the Uchiha clan that was also on Keiichi's shirt. It was nice seeing them together, as a family that is. A lot of people noticed how Hype looked like Shisui and, since he killed himself before the Uchiha's attempted Coup De Ta, did not push him away for it. They did have questions over if it was his child or a long lost relative. Hype would just ignore it with a smile from behind his mask.

Kurenai, Iruka and I watched as the kids forced Hype to play a number of games and show them his jutsus. The teleportation in hide and seek was fun to watch, but the children kept getting pissed off at him for it. "That's cheating! You can't do that!" Takahiro would yell.

Emiko and Keiichi would just giggle at it and try to find him again.

Around the time the sun had begun to set, we could see the kids were starting to get hungry. I lifted Keiichi up and started carrying him to the house, Hype tailing us not too far behind. Keiichi just nuzzled me, falling asleep in my arms. It was a peaceful day today, just like any other. Keeping things like this was something I hoped for.

'_Protecting these guys… my friends and my family… and bringing you back… that's my will of fire… Sasuke… What was yours?'_


	3. Akiko Satou

A storm brew the day she entered the village; Akiko Satou. She was a fiery storm of hidden rage that brought in the autumn winds despite the summer sun. Her green eyes were cold and filled with hate, hidden behind a smile of deception. Watching her walk by, hurrying to the Hokage's office, I held Keiichi's hand and kept him close to my side. I couldn't quite pin it but something just seemed off about that woman. It was as if she had a dark aura that made the world seem to almost blacken. I didn't feel safe around her, didn't feel safe having Keiichi around here, and definitely didn't feel safe being in the village with her. Something just told me something bad would happen here.

I didn't want to let that interfere with anything today, however. Today was a very special day and called for a celebration. It was Keiichi's first day at the ninja academy as a preschooler. He was excited like any three year old would be about going to school, but at the same time I could sense his nervousness creeping up. The night before was spent constantly reassuring him that everything was going to be alright, Emiko and Takahiro would be there by his side, and he would have fun making new friends. It wasn't for him to really learn much besides basic reading and writing. He'd learn how to control his chakra more when he was six. Right now was a time when he would learn to have fun and get a basic education. It was the only thing I really wanted for him; to have a better opportunity at life than I was handed by my family.

Sometimes I still had nightmares about those events but other questions came to mind quickly after I woke up. What happened to Toshino and my father? Why did my mother do such things? What did she mean when she would call me a demigod and everyone else was mortals? I thought about how those memories were probably buried into my brain somewhere, hidden away for a good reason. I had most of my memory back after Kabuto took a look at me; I could remember simple things about events and what I was like then, what it was like to have those friends I had and everything else. There was nothing else though. It was just a black hole in my mind.

Keiichi's voice snapped me back to reality when I heard him let out a scream. Usually I would have instantly reacted to this no matter how it sounded, but this one I could recognize better than anything. I simply sighed and let go of his hand, smiling as he ran towards the mask shop. In the back was a mask he was always staring at, an ANBU one. It was realistic, painted a pure white color. However unlike the other ANBU mask this one had no design to it. It was just pure white. A small, thinly painted 'x' was drawn where the mouth would be with small slits for eyes. But it had no red paint on it in a design. It was odd.

"Mommy, mommy, can I have it?" Keiichi eagerly asked as he tugged at my sleeve.

I smiled and pet his head, opening my mouth to answer when the shop owner approached us. "You are the only kid who's ever asked for that one. Every other one seems to want the ones that are designed, resembling those of the real ANBU. This one is special however. It's one you can design to be your very own, as if you were a real ANBU with your own mask."

Keiichi hopped on his heels as he looked up at me, his eyes wide and sparkling. I could see that deep down he was screaming and begging for it but he had enough control of himself to not embarrass himself like that. I couldn't say no to that face. "Alright, but consider this your gift for entering the academy."

Keiichi quickly went to the wall and grabbed it, smiling as he put it on. I handed the owner the money for it watching him run off. It was nice to see him being as happy about something as simple as getting a mask. It was nice that I didn't have to buy such expensive stuff to keep him amused and happy. I guess his father must have been the same way when he was a little kid. I never really got a chance to ask him about that; I'll have the opportunity one day though.

I followed after Keiichi, keeping a close eye on where he ran holding the mask to his face. His face was a gleaming ray of sunshine, especially when he ran into Hype practically knocking the poor guy off his feet.

"Uncle Hype, uncle Hype look what I got! Look at what mommy got me!" Keiichi jumped up and down, the mask resting on top his head.

Hype gave a wary smile. "It looks good on you kid, really. Hey, maybe you can be a real ANBU when you're older!"

This seemed to bring even more joy to Keiichi's face. He was oblivious to Hype's real reaction. "Hype, what's going on?"

Hype's demeanor quickly changed, showing no sign of the worry that had been there before. "Oh it's nothing Akina. Just thinking is all; Keiichi's starting the academy this afternoon isn't he?"

"Yes," I said with a slight hint of suspicious ringing clearly in my voice, "Would you care to attend with us? You are a part of this family as well."

Hype smiled and nodded quickly like a small child. "Yes I would love to go with you guys! I will be nice to see you off for your first day."

Keiichi hopped on his heels holding the mask on his head with a wide smile. They were both so happy about this, I was as well, but something deep down was throwing me off. Something about today just didn't seem right. I couldn't pin what it was though. Maybe it was just my imagination, but it felt almost as if a terrible danger was looming around here, aiming to strike and ruin this age of peace we strived so hard for.

Instead of mentioning it though I sighed and smiled, walking along as the both of them rambled. It was almost time for us to head to the academy anyway so it would be best if I just pushed it to the side for now. I would bring it up to Kakashi later more than likely anyway; it was probably just all in my head anyway.

_Akina…_

I jumped and looked around real quickly seeing the world suddenly shift into a meadow, a familiar one from long ago. This only usually happened in my dreams, but sometimes I would enter here at random when I was called, needed by the one person who knew how to summon me there.

He stood in front of me looking the same as he did every time we came here, like a 13 year old boy with a high collared navy blue shirt, white shorts that hung on his hips, white arm bands held on by thin blue belts and a pair of blue sandals that covered just above his ankles. His raven hair stood spiky in the back with his bangs framing his pale white face; a blue headband rested on his forehead with a symbol of the leaf village clearly carved into it. His coal eyes seemed to be filled with joy, an emotion I rarely got to see in them when I was with him, as he gazed upon me.

I could feel the wind spinning a white dress around me and pushing my orange hair to the side. My teal eyes brimmed slightly with tears as I saw him. It had been so long since I had been called here by him. Every time I would show by myself in my dreams he wouldn't been there for the longest time; I begun to worry that he had died and I would not have known until the news had reached the village about him being marked off from the BINGO book. But there he was standing before me with a slight smirk on his face, slowly approaching me.

"Do you always get upset when you see me here?" Sasuke chuckled.

"Shut up… You haven't come for a while it's only natural that I would worry."

Sasuke gave a soft sight as his arms slid around me pulling me close. "I'm sorry; a few things had come up is all."

I welcomed his embrace, resting my head against his chest as I breathed in his scent. It was a soft reminder that everything here was real, every touch was felt with every move that was made. Even if we were far apart we had here to meet where no one else could interrupt and we were safe from everyone else.

"Where are you now Sasuke? We need to talk in person. There's just so much I want to tell you and show you but it isn't meant for here."

"I'm by Kirigakure, just on the outskirts of it. Why don't you just tell me here though?"

I stayed quiet as I nervously bit my lower lip, looking down at my toes as the top of my head rest against his chest. I didn't want to tell him about Keiichi here; he needed to here this in person. It was the only hope I had left for bringing him back to the village. If that didn't work, if seeing his own kid and seeing how he was beginning the revival of his clan didn't convince him that he needed to come home, then there was no way he would ever come back here. Not even if I got on my knees and begged him to return. Not even if the whole village got on their knees and begged for him to come back promising to forgive him for everything he'd done up until now. Keiichi was my only hope with this.

"I'm sorry," I whispered softly, keeping my gaze on my feet, "but it's something you need to come and hear for yourself, something you need to know about. I need to see you Sasuke. Please hurry and get here soon."

I could feel his eyes on me, an intense stare, before a sigh escaped his lips. Slowly I backed away and looked up at him seeing his coal eyes blankly staring back. Even when he has a smile on his face it never quiet reaches his eyes. It's as if there is no way Sasuke will ever truly be happy, even with me around.

"I should go Akina. I'm sure they're starting to worry about you. I'll tell you when I'm by Konohagakure if that's what you want. I just wanted to see your face for a bit."

I nodded. I knew when I returned my body would be laying on the ground and everyone would be worried about my sudden 'fainting'. I hope Hype kept them from taking me to the hospital again.

"Alright… I guess until next time then, Sasuke?"

_Until next time Akina…_

I opened my eyes to find myself not on the ground but standing at Keiichi's entrance ceremony. I looked around bewildered by the fact that I had been standing and not fainted on the ground. By the looks of it there ceremony was almost over as well. How long had I been in that world? It had felt as if it had been a few minutes not a few hours.

A tug on my sleeve drew my attention to Hype standing next to me. "Are you alright? You blanked out and haven't said anything for hours! I was starting to get worried."

"I was walking?" Confusion hung from each word as I gazed down at Hype.

Hype seemed to go serious; his voice lowering to barely a whisper as he spoke hoping no one but me would hear the question that came out of his mouth. "He called you there didn't he?"

I nodded slightly looking around to make sure no one was listening. No one but Hype and Kakashi knew of this world that I would go to sometimes. We were scared that if it got around that type of power would bring fear to the people around me. They were scared any of my powers or the story of my past would end up doing that to me; it was just best no one knew who I was.

"Does he know about his son now or are you still trying to get him here?"

"I'm still trying to bring him here. He needs to see Keiichi for himself."

Hype nodded as we turned to where the students stood in line. There he was, Keiichi standing there smiling wide as they spoke welcoming the preschoolers on their first day. He wouldn't do this again until he entered the academy classes to become a ninja in four years. That's when all of this was supposed to get serious.

"You're supposed to go up and talk to his teacher for a bit and then they will go for a few hours." Hype whispered trying to fill me in quickly as all the mother's and a few father's went to talk to the teachers.

Hype walked ahead of me just slightly up to Akiko Satou, the woman who had walked by early and the shinobi Kakashi had been expecting to come back for a while. The bad feeling I had gotten earlier was getting stronger with each step I took towards her. I still couldn't pin what it was but there was something about her that made me feel weird about letting Keiichi stay with her.

"Hello, I'm Satou sensei, but feel free to call me Akiko." She said with a wide smile, bouncing slightly.

She seemed very child-like for someone her age. I knew she was Kakashi's age but I wouldn't say she looked a day over 20. Her forest green eyes were bright, beautiful and hypnotizing. There was only one other person that I knew had those colored eyes.

It wasn't just that though; the smile, the happy personality, the young mask… she seemed to appear to be a lot like Hype.

I looked down at him and saw him giving her a weary look as well. Maybe he was noticing it as well. But didn't he know his mother? It had been so long since the topic had been brought up that I have forgotten if he had or not.

Seeing Hype's eyes as I spoke to her made me think more and more about this. As she walked away, class close behind, I turned to Hype. "Hype," I asked, getting him to turn towards me cocking an eyebrow, "did you ever meet your mother?"

"No, but you know this already." Hype looked questioningly at me as if he was trying to figure out what I was getting at.

"I know, but look at her eyes," I gestured with my chin over towards my son's new teacher, "and the way she looks and acts."

"They're green, so what? And a lot of people are childish. It's nothing new." Hype looked back at me with even more question beaming in his eyes. I reached into my pocket, producing a small mirror, and held it in front of Hype's eyes. At first he seemed confused then realization dawned across his face and suddenly he was gone.

It was as if looking in the mirror made him melt away. As soon as he saw his own eyes he just poofed away.

A conformation that neither of us thought we would ever see.


End file.
